Anna Bazhutova (; ), known on

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

as YokoBovich, is a Russian streamer. Bazhutova was arrested in 2023 and subsequently sentenced to five and a half years in prison for sharing testimonies of the

Bucha massacre The Bucha massacre (; ) was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by the Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the city of Bucha as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photographic and video ...

in Ukraine on her Twitch channel. The

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

human rights organization has classified her as a political prisoner.

Detention

In April 2022, Bazhutova made a live stream on

that included witnesses to the

, which occurred during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, and residents of the city. In June 2023, pro-war Russian bloggers republished the stream and filed complaints with the police. Two months after the complaint, police searched Buzhutova's home and confiscated her personal electronic devices. On 5 June 2024, the

Ostankinsky District Ostankinsky District, also called simply Ostankino, is an administrative district (raion) of North-Eastern Administrative Okrug, and one of the 125 raions of Moscow, Russia. VDNH exhibition center and Ostankino Tower, the tallest structure in E ...

Court found Anna guilty of “spreading false information” about the Russian military and sentenced her to five and a half years in prison. Bazhutova's defense stated that it would appeal the decision. The Memorial human rights organization has classified her as a political prisoner, stating that her case violates the right to freedom of expression and seeks to silence critics of the war in Russia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bazhutova, Anna 1990s births Russian women Russian political prisoners Russian Twitch (service) streamers Political prisoners according to Memorial Living people

Detention

See also

References